Throughout 2016 PHMSA’s Office of Chief Counsel processed a total of 42 cases and 256 tickets. The total amount of fines that were issued as a result of the tickets and cases was $941,404.
Shenzhen Union Trading Co. was fined $66,537 for transporting fireworks without the proper approval and using an invalid EX number.
Airsplat was fined $19,584 for transporting liquefied petroleum gases without the proper labels and markings. It was also discovered that Airsplat failed to properly train their hazmat employees and maintain records of the training.
Vet Specialist, a Phillippines-based company, was fined $18,039 for transporting calcium carbide in packaging that did not meet the required standards, failing to label each package, and not maintaining the required shipping documents.
In June the FAA fined Amazon $350,000 after it was discovered that between February 2013 and September 2015 the company violated the hazardous materials regulations 24 times. Amazon has a history of problems with the FAA over shipping hazardous materials.
Amazon’s trouble didn’t end with the fine. The company was prosecuted and convicted in the United Kingdom when it was discovered that Amazon staff members in China, Romania, and India re-designated dangerous goods as non-dangerous goods so they could be sent via airmail without being subjected to the restricted shipping rules. The items in question were laptop computers containing lithium batteries and aerosol cans containing flammable gas propellants. During the course of the investigation, Royal Mail found 782 packages containing dangerous goods.
Penalties for Hazmat Breaches
(as reported by American Journal of Transportation)
